A deep dive into Sugas work

In this stream we celebrate Sugas birthday by reacting to his producing skills. we kind of nerd out on this one so buckle up and grab some snacks :) 

Playlist link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlaVjqdRn9tDFTPz5G9OD2U58wa_-nrJG

Playlist comments:

Today we are celebrating our genius Suga’s birthday by listening to his outside work he produced and collaborated with for other artists. Over the years he has worked with many artists, like IU in the song eight you listened to months ago, and Forbes recently recognized him and wrote an article about him titled, “BTS’s Suga is Now An In-Demand Collaborator For American Musicians”. We hope everyone enjoys today's Suga stream!

D-Town - 518-062 (May 2010):

This is a track produced by Suga back in 2010 from when he was an underground rapper known as “Gloss” and a member of the hip-hop crew “D-Town”. Staying true to the kind of music Suga produces, "518-062" was made as a way to remember the Gwangju Democratization Movement that took place from May 18 to May 27 in 1980. The meaning of 518-062 is the combined words of the Gwangju area code, 062, and 518 from 5.18, the date on which the Pro-Democracy Movement occurred. More about the Gwangju Democratization: https://www.allkpop.com/article/2021/05/a-look-at-sugas-song-518-062-and-the-history-behind-it

Suga’s BigHit Rap battle (October 2010)

On October 24th, 2010 Yoongi attended the Hit It Audition Finals held at the NB2 club in Hongdae. They held a tournament style rap battle and the then current members of BTS (Namjoon, Supreme Boi, Iron) also performed. Yoongi defeated all his opponents until the final round when he went up against Choi Ikje (also known as i11evn). Although only first place was guaranteed a spot in BTS, they were impressed with Yoongi's production skills and invited him to join as well.

Who am I, - Reflow (2011)

Starting to write lyrics at the age of thirteen and later joining D-town, a hip-hop crew, as a beat-maker, producer, and rapper, making a name for himself among Korean hip-hop artists. Enough for rapper Reflow to request a beat. Rapper Reflow was looking for a beat that truly screamed "my song," so he went to "the beat-maker Yoongi from D-town" and asked for a beat for a mixtape. Yoongi completed the beat and sent it to him a month later. The song is called "Who Am I," and it was included in Reflow's mixtape, making it his most legendary song that opened the door to many opportunities for the rapper.

Wine - Suran ft. Changmo (April 2017)

Suran was the female vocalist we heard in Agust D’s “So Far Away”, and we get to hear them work together again with this song that Suga produced for her mini album “Walkin’”. This song won Best R&B/Soul at 'Melon Music Awards 2018’ (among other awards) and was Suga’s first award for producing with the Hot Trend (Producer) Award at the same award show.

Song Request - Lee SoRa ft. Suga (Jan 2019)

Lee So-ra is a ballad singer who made her debut in 1993 as a member of the jazz group Strange People and is one of the most renowned vocalists in Korea. This song's lyrics were written by Suga and Tablo of Epik High, and where Lee Sora is singing to the radio, Suga seems to respond from the radio's (or song itself) point of view. This song dominated digital charts and won Best Collaboration and the ‘Mnet Asian Music Awards 2020’.

Eternal Sunshine - Epik High (March 2019)

You had the chance to listen to this group this past LRW, the legendary group Epik High in an alternative hip hop group from Seoul who debuted in 2003 and is the reason Suga (and RM) became passionate about music. More than a decade later, Suga was able to produce this song with his musical inspirations.

Tablo, a member from Epik high, shared that they had to remaster the song after it was done because Suga forgot an important part in the first mastering because he was working so hard and fast on the track.

“We then decided to re-master the song after including the part that Suga requested (because he was so distraught about forgetting an important part). That part was actually… People may think, ‘Did they forget a rapping part? Did they forget an instrument?’… *Whispers ‘Suga’*…” Suga forgot to add in his signature whispered ‘Suga’ at the start of the track.

We Don’t Talk Together - Heize ft. Giriboy (July 2019)

A breakup song about ex lovers who meet up after a while and realize they're still in love and want to be together, but they can't bring themselves to confess their feelings.

Heize is a Korean singer, rapper, songwriter, and producer. Suga is credited as a producer, composer, and lyricist alongside Heize. Heize won Best R&B/Soul at 'Melon Music Awards 2019' with this song and she thanked Suga during her speech for his contribution.

*No lyrics in MV, so here are the lyrics for later: https://doyoubangtan.wordpress.com/2019/07/07/we-dont-talk-together-by-heize-ft-giriboy/

Suga’s Interlude - Halsey ft. Suga (Jan. 2020)

Halsey and BTS became friends at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards, she was later featured in the BTS song ‘Boy With Luv’ in 2019. ‘Suga’s Interlude’ is a song off of her album ‘Manic’, and Suga is credited as producer of the song, while Yoongi (Suga’s real name) is credited as lyricist.

“I knew I had to have him be a part of this record. I knew that he would get what it feels like to be manic, to be introspective.” He even added lyrics from BTS’s older song ‘Tomorrow’ to the song, giving the feeling of a continuation or companion piece with the message.

Halsey posted an instagram story of a picture of Suga holding her ~6 month old baby boy as a happy birthday post and Army’s hearts everywhere exploded (Pic below).

Blueberry Eyes - MAX ft. Suga (Sept. 2020)

MAX is an American singer-songwriter who had a chance to meet with Suga when on tour in Seoul and became friends, and he was even featured in the song ‘Burn it’ from Agust D’s 2nd mixtape.

MAX on working with Suga for “Blueberry Eyes'': “I just sent him the whole album. I basically said, “Here’s all the songs, you tell me what you want to be on, and I’ll make it work. I’m grateful to have you on any song.” I think he’s speaking about ARMYs and how much they mean to him. That’s what really made it special. It really did feel like each other’s vows to the people we love, and I love that that’s what he brought to the story.

Over the Horizon - Suga for Samsung (Aug. 2021)

BTS has been Samsung ambassadors since 2020 and ‘Over the Horizon’ is known as the Samsung Galaxy brand song. Suga reimagined the song for the company and according to Samsung’s representatives “Suga was the perfect person to recreate the track which has served as the default ringtone of all Samsung Galaxy devices for years.”

You - ØMI (Oct. 2021)

OMI is a vocalist of the popular J-pop band Sandaime J Soul Brothers and also a solo artist. Suga co-produced the song with OMI and is also credited as a co-writer for the song.

In an interview with Billboard Japan OMI had this to say about Suga: “He conveys the light and darkness of the soul through his music, and expresses music as art … His message struck a chord with me, and I thought it would be fun not having any idea what music would come out of the endeavor.”

My Universe (Suga’s Remix) - Coldplay X BTS (Oct. 2021)

You know this collaboration, Suga remixed it, enjoy

Girl of my dreams - Juice WRLD ft. Suga (Dec. 2021)

This song was part of Juice WRLD’s album “Fighting Demons” which was released 2 years after his death. Having worked together for the song “All night” in 2019, it was a pleasant surprise to see Suga being able to work with Juice WRLD’s music once again.

Though these lyric videos only represent a rough translation, you can definitely see Suga’s lyrical style shine through during his section. Suga recently shared that he wrote the lyrics to his section of this song as well as the lyrics to “Stay Alive” (which you listened to a few weeks ago during LRW) on a plane ride to the US.